u/kyruns1590

Found this friend laying eggs in our backyard this morning right behind my kids’ playground. She seems to be finished up and has headed back to the creek \~100 ft from the nest. My kids are pretty young (but also very respectful of nature given their ages) and we have a relatively young dog, and with the proximity of the nest to an area we are in frequently, I’m wondering if there is anything we need to do to protect the eggs. We also live in a wooded area where I would assumed many predators may come lurking in the night.

Also, any insight on what kind of turtle (I assumed a snapping turtle of some type but I am admittedly incredibly ignorant about turtles in general—we’re in Kentucky ) and how long we can expect it to take before the eggs hatch would be appreciated as well. Sorry the picture isn’t great, I didn’t want to get too close and possible scare or disturb her!

Found this friend laying eggs in our backyard this morning right behind my kids’ playground. She seems to be finished up and has headed back to the creek ~100 ft from the nest. My kids are pretty young (but also very respectful of nature given their ages) and we have a relatively young dog, and with the proximity of the nest to an area we are in frequently, I’m wondering if there is anything we need to do to protect the eggs. We also live in a wooded area where I would assumed many predators may come lurking in the night.

Also, any insight on what kind of turtle (I assumed a snapping turtle of some type but I am admittedly incredibly ignorant about turtles in general—we’re in Kentucky ) and how long we can expect it to take before the eggs hatch would be appreciated as well. Sorry the pictures aren’t great, I didn’t want to get too close and possible scare or disturb her!